Teams raise money in memory of their friend and colleague at event in Daventry

Football teams took to the pitch in Daventry to raise money for charity and in memory of their friend and colleague.

The five-a-side tournament was organised by DHL Tyre Team and held on Saturday, June 18, at Daventry Town FC’s ground.

Winners AFC Lutterworth

The event raised money for Little Faces – a children’s charity helping build a primary school in Mombasa, Kenya, where children have no access or funds to an education, hoping to improve their chances of making a better future. The event was also held in memory of DHL’s former employee and friend of many of those taking part Stuart Patrick, who sadly passed away after losing his battle with leukaemia.

His parents Brian and Debra Patrick attended the event and said they were very grateful for those hosting the day in Stuart’s honour. They thanked DHL Hankook Tyres for their efforts to raise money for the charity they chose – Bloodwise, which supports research into leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancers.

The tournament consisted of five teams from DHL bases around the area. Daventry’s DHL Hankook Tyres team name was Stuart’s Superheros, who had football shirts made specially for the event. Unfortunately the team lost in the knockout stages and did not make the semi-finals, but they played in high spirits for Stuart.

The two teams in the final were Bloc Ascension from DHL Rugby and AFC Lutterworth from DHL Lutterworth. It was a close match with the score standing at 2-2 until AFC Lutterworth scored a goal in the last 10 seconds.

Stuart Patrick

Leonie Eaton, one of the organisers from DHL Hanook Tyres, said: “We held a massive prize raffle at the end of the day, selling more than 400 tickets. The raffle was made from generous donations from sub-contractors and agencies including William Fitzmaurice Carriers, Cordent People and Drummonds.

“We raised £700 in total, with the DHL Match It scheme making a grand total of £1,400 donated to charity, meaning Bloodwise and Little faces both get £700.”